The death knells sounds once more…

CORRECTION (1 p.m.): An earlier version listed UTSA will become a bowl “counter” in 2014. UTSA will in fact become a bowl counter in 2013.

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In our latest episode of As The WAC Turns, Boise State president Bob Kustra tells the Idaho Press Tribune that three league schools are poised to fill gaps in the Mountain West and Conference USA in the aftermath of the Big East’s impending body snatch: Louisiana Tech and Utah State, which have already been speculated by numerous outlets, and New Mexico State, which has not. (San Jose State had been previously identified as the other third party.)

So, another day, another rumor of the WAC’s impending demise.

Of more interest for locals is what role, if any, UTSA might play as the drama unfolds. More and more it’s sounding like not much.

A couple of weeks ago I opined that the Roadrunners, thanks to their success at the Alamodome box office and location in a major, untapped market, would have to be a strong candidate. Especially after a UTSA source told me it was on CUSA’s “short list.”

Well, as I reported in last week’s column, that short list actually turns out to be pretty long, according to an athletic director in the CUSA. At least 10 schools, in fact, from at least three different leagues.

Then came another source, who told me over the weekend that UTSA has been actively lobbying CUSA for an invitation, but that interest has been lukewarm at best.

Which surprises me, especially with duds like New Mexico State and San Jose State apparently being wooed. But the fact that the Roadrunners will not be a full bowl “counter” — i.e., not counting towards an opponents bowl eligibility — until 2013 as part of their re-classification period is apparently diminishing their allure in a significant way.

So, what are UTSA’s options?

A call to athletic director Lynn Hickey, who last week expressed supreme confidence that UTSA will be in an FBS conference, be it the WAC or elsewhere, when the dust settles, was not immediately returned. But unless I’m missing something, which is always a very strong possibility, there appears to be only three (in no particular order):

1. Go back to the Southland Conference, which commissioner Tom Burnett said hasn’t even been considered.

“The last thing you want to do is burn bridges,” he said, “but they’ve been very clear about where their future is, and that is not in the Southland Conference.”

2. Earn life preserver from another FBS conference.

Chances are slim would seem to be slim there considering there appears to be only one possibility — the Sun Belt, which has had less than zero interest in the Roadrunners, but that could change with the impending retirement of commissioner Wright Waters. (Burnett, by the way, said he has not been contacted by the league, for which he worked for 11 years before coming to the Southland.)

3. Continue to hope the WAC survives. And if the league does indeed lose three members, that doesn’t seem possible.

But here’s something to chew on: Several of the schools that will reportedly be joining the Big East, including Boise State, will do so for football only, so they’ll need a place to stash the rest of their athletic programs.

Perhaps that place could be what’s left of the WAC?

Certainly not ideal for the remaining teams that play football, who would have to pursue independent schedules. But if you’ll remember, that was essentially the same plan UTSA was originally pursuing with the Southland before the league re-wrote its bylaws to require full membership.

I don’t even know if that’s possible, or even legal. But in this day and age, with reason seemingly evaporating on a daily basis, does anybody?